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Commercial Office Trends for 2021

Your office space is a destination for collaboration, creativity and endless productivity. Its layout, colours and even flow can reflect your brand, its values and provide both employees and visitors with a lasting impression. However, this past year has made us all reconsider what the offices of the future will look like and how they will function. Big, open concepts with shared spaces do not seem to fit our new ideas about the modern office—has the coronavirus signalled the end of open concept workspaces?

Whether you’re building a new office or trying to reimagine your space, this month’s blog is dedicated to office trends and what we can expect commercial spaces to look like as we move forward. From remote work to modular office cubicles, here are some design elements that are a by-product of the pandemic. 

How the Pandemic Has Transformed Office Design

Despite the popularity of open-concept office spaces and its clean, modern lines, the emphasis on physical distancing and keeping workspaces clean, has made the open concept office feel less collaborative and more problematic.

And while office designs were formerly geared toward increasing efficiency and productivity, TJ Chambers, a project designer who was interviewed by DW, believes that “the pandemic has highlighted the urgency of having working and living spaces that are good for humans.” This shift toward a healthier office space means considering office layout, lighting and even sanitation in new and unexpected ways.

Here are just a few of many office features that we can expect to see in the future:

1. Office Pods.

Although cubicles haven’t always had the best reputation, this office staple might just make a comeback in the form of individual “pods” that are designed to provide increased privacy and functionality. According to an article by the New Yorker, some offices are in favour of forgoing the beloved open-concept office for personalized work stations, which offer employees a place to check in and focus without feeling confined. One idea is to make the pods higher, or clear, to give the illusion of greater space.

2. Increased Technology.

Adding additional automated components to your existing office space will limit the amount of time that staff spends cleaning frequently used surfaces. Introducing automatic doors, soap dispensers and other smart technologies, including air purifiers and motion-activated lighting, would reduce energy and improve accessibility and cleanliness too.

3. Easy-to-Clean Surfaces.

It’s important to choose hard, easy-to clean flooring for your office. But what about other surfaces? New cleaning protocols have emphasized the need for desk and counter top materials that are both durable and anti-bacterial, such as porcelain and, according to BBC, copper, since copper alloys have shown to be effective at killing harmful bacteria.

4. Outdoor-Inspired Spaces

In addition to making work places safer and healthier, offices will still rely on large windows and natural light to create “visual and physical connections to the outdoors.” In conjunction with cleaner, more personalized office spaces, incorporating natural elements as well as air-purifying plants into your design can help offices feel less sterile and more inspiring.

Reinvent Your Office with Impero!

Are you renovating or in the process of building your own office space? Impero’s team of architects and builders will assist you in creating a productive and healthy space that works for your employees. Contact us today to get started!